Children’s Voices. The University of Northampton School of Education Colloquium

"On 17th January 2014 our visiting Italian scholar from the University of Padua, Dr Valentina Grion, led a colloquium for staff and students to explore issues surrounding children’s voices in their educational settings. Valentina opened the colloquium with provocations taken from her book ‘Student Voice’, and a quotation from Shields (2003): “When children feel they belong and find their realities reflected in the curriculum and conversations of schooling, research has demonstrated repeatedly that they are more engaged in learning and that they experience greater school success” (p.122). The colloquium debated the value and tensions inherent in listening to children’s voices in matters affecting them in their schools and settings. Discourse led to consideration of the practical and ethical issues that we may need to consider in our educational practice and research with children".